In 2004 a Forum member based in New Jersey, U.S.A., raised a very insightful grammar question on infinitive usage that I think would be a very useful guide to all those aiming for greater mastery of their English.
Douglas Maliszewski wrote me by e-mail: “As a wordsmith junior class, I would rarely question you. However, in your column ‘The purposive ways of viewing the future – III,’ I wonder if the sentence ‘What everyone will be doing in the next five months is
size up the candidates’ will be better said using the to-infinitive: ‘What everyone will be doing in the next five months is
to size up the candidates.’ It feels more natural, sounds more correct to my ear.”
My reply to Douglas: The grammar jury is probably still out on that one. The infinitive may be preceded by “to”
(the to-infinitive) or can stand alone
(the zero or base infinitive) depending on usage. Your use of the to-infinitive in the phrase “to size up the candidates” is the scrupulously formal usage; my use of the zero infinitive where I drop the “to” is the informal one, in keeping with the tone of my columns. I would think the choice is simply a matter of style.
This is not to say, of course, that there aren’t some hard-and-fast rules on the use of the two forms of the infinitive. Here they are:
Use the to-infinitive after these verbs, verb forms, and sentence patterns:(1) After such verbs as “agree,” “decide,” “fail,” “learn,” “mean,” “want,” “want,” and “wish”: “We
agreed to look deeply into the matter.”
(2) After the auxiliary verb forms “to be to,” “to have to,” and “ought to”: “We rushed our pleadings knowing that the judge
was to decide on the case soonest.” “She hated the idea of
having to fly at such an early hour.”
(3) When used in the sentence pattern “it is + adjective + to-infinitive”: “
It is futile to pursue this line of action.”
Use the zero or base infinitive after certain verb auxiliaries, after certain verbs of perception, after the verbs “make” and “let” in the particular sentence pattern “make/let + object + infinitive,” and after the expressions “had better” and “would rather”:(1) Omit the “to” when the infinitive is used after the auxiliaries “must,” “might,” “may,” “can,” and “should”: “We
must [to] find a better solution.” “They
should [to] get expert opinion.”
(2) Omit the “to” when the infinitive is used after such verbs of perception as “feel,” “see,” and “hear” in the sentence pattern “verb + object + zero infinitive”: “I
felt the numbness [to] grow on my leg.” “She
saw them [to] kiss beneath the tree.”
(3) Omit the “to” when the infinitive is used after the verbs “make” and “let” in the sentence pattern “make/let + object + zero infinitive”: “She
made me [to] pay for the lost cell phone.”
(4) Omit the “to” when the infinitive is used after the expression “had better”: “You
had better [to] leave now or else…”
(5) Omit the “to” when the infinitive is used after the expression “would rather” when it refers to the speaker’s own actions: “I
would rather [to] lose by default than fight him again.”
Apart from these, of course, we must also take into account the more contentious matter of split infinitives, as in
“to really start.” The
Merriam-Webster’ 11th Collegiate Dictionary makes this usage note: “Modern commentators know the split infinitive is not a vice, but they are loath to drop such a popular subject. They usually say it’s all right to split an infinitive in the interest of clarity. Since clarity is the usual reason for splitting, this advice means merely that you can split them whenever you need to.”
This essay, 2096th of the series, appeared in the column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in the Campus Press section of the April 27, 2022 Internet edition of The Manila Times
, ©2022 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.Read this essay online in
The Manila Times:
Some hard-and-fast rules on infinitive usage(Next week:
Playing it by ear when to use an infinitive or gerund) May 5, 2022
Visit Jose Carillo’s English Forum, http://josecarilloforum.com. You can follow me on Facebook and Twitter and e-mail me at j8carillo@yahoo.com.
